In the past millions of people were windsurfing with long boards and they could all find out for themselves if windsurfing in low wind is fun. Obviously for most of them it was not fun enough to continue. If they would think it is, then no journalist or marketing wizard could tell them differently.

So the theory that magazines and commercials are responsible for this is not logical, they would need a special alien mind control device to achieve this, especially since many windsurfers don’t read windsurfing magazines. But then, of course if windsurf producers could take such influence, they wouldn’t bother with windsurf boards and carbon fiber. They would simply make people buy wooden planks and they would all be billionaires by now. I hope I don’t have to say, this would be a case for X – FILES, you can’t seriously consider such possibility.

Transition from windsurfing with long board in non planing conditions to windsurfing with short board in planing conditions happened because most people, especially windsurfers, like something more exciting and spectacular. This was natural development, windsurf producers and magazines were forced to follow, if they wouldn’t, sale numbers would go down not for 80 but for 99%.

I still have an old long board with dagger and occasionally I still use it, I guess I’m nostalgic. But even with long board I don’t go windsurfing if wind is less than 6 knots. Of course I know you can use a long board in high winds, but I also know it is easier and more fun to use suitable short board for high wind conditions. For me windsurfing in low wind is not enough fun to buy a new long board, windsurfing in high wind is more fun with short board, so why bother with long board, I use long board only because I already have one.

Next issue I would like to point out is that many postings begin like “I have been windsurfing for 25 years” or “I started windsurfing back in”. The conclusion we can make out of this is that many windsurfers, including me, are old cranks, well over 40. There are not enough young people windsurfing. But we will not motivate young people to start windsurfing by telling old stories, how fun it is to windsurf in 1 – 3 knots of wind. Imagine 17 years old boy standing on long windsurf board, barley moving in 1 knot wind and his friends circling around him with jet ski, laughing. This is the image that turns young people away from windsurfing. Windsurfing events on last Olympic Games in Beijing didn’t help much to change this image.

If we want to motivate more young people to start windsurfing, we have to show them that you can go faster windsurfing than most ships and motor boats or you can do wave or freestyle. If there are more people windsurfing, perhaps some of them will feel that windsurfing in 5 knots wind is enough fun to spend 1500 EU to buy Serenity or perhaps even Phantom Race for 1800EU, but I think they will be a minority.

To make a windsurf board that can plane in less than 10 knots wind was step in right direction. This was also advance in sailing technology, to make a sailing craft that goes faster with less wind means higher efficiency.